If your home is anything like mine, the daily ritual over the past few weeks has begun with the excitable opening of advent calendars. When I was growing up, the humble advent calendar would be opened each morning to reveal a nativity-based image: Magi from the East in regal robes; angels in bright raiments; shepherds silhouetted against starry skies. Largely flat, one-dimensional offerings, this was long before the evolution of advent calendars into the more elaborate, gift-dispensing treasure troves that they have now become. These days, at the very least one can expect a decent-sized chocolate – or chocolate bar -every day (I’ll pass on the weetabix this morning, mother; this Freddo should sustain me until lunchtime), but you might equally expect a Lego or Playmobil figurine, a Smiggle Bath and Body product, or even a gemstone. And fear not, mums and dads, these days it’s not just the kids who can expect an advent calendar. Oh no! Take your pick from advent calendars offering a vast smorgasbord of festive treats from cheese, beer, gin and hot chocolate to any number of other culinary delights. There’s even a ‘12 Days of Noodles’ advent calendar for those who like nothing better than a hot bowl of winter noodles to start their December days (once you’ve finished with your Freddo, darling, would you mind taking my Tom Yum noodles out of the microwave; there’s a dear). It’s not just food, either. There’s a ‘24 Days of Socks’ advent calendar (in case the predictable bundle of socks that every middle aged man can expect each Christmas Day isn’t enough…), a 24 Days of Beard Treats for the hirsute gentleman, and for those looking for something a little more sophisticated, Wedgewood have a Christmas Tree advent calendar with 25 rather exquisite porcelain ornaments retailing at just £860. Bargain!
In the consumer culture that we live in, it’s perhaps inevitable that things have got bigger, though, at least in my opinion, I’m not sure they’ve got better. You see, plain and simple though they may used to have been, the humble advent calendar of yesteryear nevertheless still induced thrill and excitement each and every morning, even without the dispensing of a chocolate, a pair of socks, or a tincture of beard oil (which, after all, might have been a little strange for a young boy to receive, albeit aspirational I suppose). It might only have been a picture that was revealed once the calendar door was opened, but the thrill was in the anticipation of what might lie behind, and the excitement of moving one day closer to Christmas morning itself. The thrill, in reality, was in the opening of the door itself.
I have been musing on advent calendars over the past few days since the end of term with the time to reflect back a little on the past few months, and indeed the past year. As thoughts inevitably turn to the new year ahead and all the possibilities and opportunities that await, I have also found it valuable to reflect back on the year past, and all that has gone before us in the past 12 months.
So why advent calendars? Well, I have found myself reflecting back on a lot of doors being opened this year, some literal, some more metaphoric. Indeed, the year began back in January with the opening of our new Senior School library, with doors opening on the first day of the new term and the new year. We actually spent quite a bit of time thinking about that door- and the entranceway to it – for we wanted it to feel different, like you were entering somewhere a little special, a little magical. All great libraries, after all, are places of sanctuary, discovery, wonder. So we wanted that door – and the entranceway itself – to be like a portal into a different world, for that is the true gift of libraries, and the books within them. Much like the thrill and excitement of opening up the daily door of an advent calendar, so too should opening the pages of a new book be a thrilling experience; one of excitement and anticipation. It gives me great joy to see just how successful that Library project has been, and as the space celebrates its first birthday, it is heartening to see the Library once again at the heart of the school, and the treasure trove of books within it so greatly enjoyed.
We likewise opened the doors to a newly-refurbished and renamed Sigi Faith Sixth Form Centre on Founder’s Day earlier this term. Those who attended the Founder’s Day service will have been moved and inspired by the words of Sigi Faith’s daughter Nicky as she retold her father’s extraordinary story from the young 10 year old boy who left Hamburg train station to travel to England as part of the kindertransport to shoe-store entrepreneur who became a household name with Faith Shoes stores found in cities and towns across the country. Oswestry School played a key part in that story, affording the young Sigi Faith with a sanctuary – or “a paradise,” as he himself would later describe it reflecting on his time here – providing him with a home, an education, and the hope that comes from possibility. Providing him with an Oswestry education free of charge, the school quite literally opened its doors to Sigi Faith and opened its arms to embrace the young Jewish boy who spoke no English and who knew no one. Possibilities were opened to him, and once those doors of opportunity were opened, he strode boldly forward, latterly becoming Head Boy, captain of the 1st XI, an assiduous student, and one who involved himself in the wide array of school life both inside and outside the classroom. His is an inspiring story of hope and opportunity, and what can be achieved when doors are opened for you. It is fitting, then, that the Sixth Form Centre should carry his name, recognising not only the generous legacy donation from the Faith family, but most importantly reminding our pupils each and every day as they walk through the doors of that new and exciting facility that opportunity and possibility awaits them; all they must do is step boldly forward.
As a school whose motto translates as We Learn not for School but for Life our aim is- and always been- to best prepare our youngsters for their adult lives beyond. Preparing them with the skillsets and mindsets they will need for future thriving and flourishing, our job, too, is to guide them to those possibilities and, open up the doorways and pathways to the wide range of futures that awaits them. This was the impetus behind Futures Fortnight which was one of the highlights of the term and a meaningful and insightful two weeks with future-focused lessons in the Prep School and Senior School, and a series of fascinating, engaging and inspiring talks from alumni, parents, and friends of the school. Central to the school’s strategic plan – Forte – which was launched in September, Futures Fortnight and the broader Futures vision is a firm commitment to ensuring that an Oswestry education best prepares our youngsters for their wide – and wide-ranging – futures.
An Oswestry education is, above all, about possibility and opportunity. It’s what I talk about a lot when I meet with prospective parents, or alumni, or indeed anyone who’ll listen! It’s why, when the Senior School reception underwent a refurbishment in the summer, we thought we’d do something a little different and include a secret door in the visitor room. What appears to be a bookcase full of leather-bound tomes is in fact a hidden doorway which, aside from being rather fun, unexpected, and typically idiosyncratic, is also a visual representation of all that we do here at the school. Far from being a gimmick, it’s a metaphor for what an inspiring education should be: a doorway to opportunities and possibilities; a doorway to self-discovery; to fun and laughter; to friendship; to happiness. Much like the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’s classic novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opened to the magical, mystical world of Narnia, so, too, should an inspiring education be a portal into new worlds. I like to think that Oswestry has that little bit of magic, and each day as pupils open doors into classroom or Science Lab, sports hall or theatre, swimming pool or music room, there is that same excitement, that same sense of discovery, wonder, boldness, that same childhood thrill and anticipation of what lies within, and what lies beyond.
105 school days remain this academic year. That’s a whole lot more doors to open than your average advent calendar. You can be sure that it will include the weird and the wonderful, the inspiring and the inventive, the bold and the beautiful, the simple, the surprising, the joyful. It is an exciting, and thrilling, prospect.
“If ye will all have it so, let us go on and take the adventure that shall fall to us.”
-from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Peter Middleton 